


Pieces of Tomorrow

by V_Shalyr



Series: Magical Crime Investigations [2]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-06-13
Packaged: 2019-10-29 02:50:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17799731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/V_Shalyr/pseuds/V_Shalyr
Summary: Settling in to life in the Magnolia branch of the Magical Crimes Investigations division is proving to be neither easy nor quick, although compared to everyone else in the department, Zeref feels practically normal.





	1. Anonymity

Zeref cherished his anonymity. It was so easy for him to lose it. Perhaps that was why he was so absolutely and totally dreading going in for his first official day of work,. Work..,. Of course he'd worked before, and as an academic and intellectual person, he quite enjoyed having things to do. He just wasn't sure how right it was for him to enjoy it. So many terrible things had happened because of the work he'd done way, way back when he'd still been as young as he looked.

"Do you know what I will be doing?" he asked, trailing somewhat anxiously after Natsu towards the MCI building down the street.

"Erza wants to meet with you to discuss that. You sure you're feeling all right? You look sort of pale."

Which was saying something.

"I'm sure."

If "all right" included feeling like his stomach was trying to migrate into his throat anyway.

On the bright side, many of the people around the office had seen him already, so he drew only a handful of curious glances when he followed Natsu through the glass doors.

"Erza's not in yet," the receptionist said when she spotted them over the top of her tankard, "but I'll let you know as soon as she arrives."

"Thanks."

Zeref found himself staring a little, and once they turned the corner, he said, "She has two barrels of beer under her desk."

Natsu didn't appear surprised.

"Yeah, that's Cana for you. Drinking is pretty much her life when she hasn't got a field assignment."

"And... she works in reception?"

"Better than a lot of the other choices we currently have, trust me. And anyway, no one cares too much as long as the job gets done. It takes a hell of a lot of booze to get her actually drunk."

"I see..."

"This is the first time you've met her, right? She's been out a lot lately. Family matters, I think."

They arrived in the main office to find it bursting at the seams with activity. It seemed like everyone who could be in was. Zeref took a chair next to Natsu's desk and just tried to keep out of everyone's way while he waited for his meeting. The Dragon Slayer had a report to write. It was probably the part of his job that Natsu hated most, but it had at least gotten a bit easier with Zeref around to give him pointers on how to organize it, which details to include, and which details to omit.

The Black Wizard paused partway through explaining to him how best to outline the events that had led to the bar brawl downtown when he suddenly stopped speaking. Natsu stopped writing and looked up.

"Something the matter?"

"...Why is that person walking through the office with no clothes on?"

"Oh, him? That's Gray, one of the other field team captains—basically, his job is like mine. Uh, the clothes are a bad habit. Half the time, he doesn't even realize he's naked."

Zeref couldn't understand how someone could fail to realize something so... obvious.

"Nobody minds?"

"Of course people mind. There just isn't much anyone can do about it. Erza's beat him up a couple times because of it, and if that doesn't stop him, nothing will."

"It doesn't seem to stop you from challenging her," Zeref pointed out. He personally thought that was a bit of a bad habit too.

"Hey, that's different! How am I supposed to know if I've gotten any stronger if I don't have a measure?"

"Is that important?"

"It is to me."

Zeref thought about this then nodded and let the matter go. Different things were important to different people.

"You know," Natsu said, fixing him with a curious look, "considering most of the wizards I've met, it's kind of weird how much you don't care."

The shorter wizard took some time to answer, wanting to be honest but unsure if his words would sound arrogant.

"I know I am a very skilled wizard even by the standard of other skilled wizards, and I feel no need to prove that to anyone. Whether other people acknowledge my abilities or not will not make me any better or any worse than I am. Besides, I have found many things I believe to be more important. And my magic has brought me little but trouble."

Both because of the people who feared him like the government and because of the people who wanted him like the Dark Guilds.

"Guess I hadn't thought of it that way."

The Dragon Slayer frowned, his thoughts drifting back to Grimoire Heart. Being a great wizard really hadn't done Zeref much good. On the other hand...

"Well, at least one good thing's happened because you're a wizard." Natsu grinned. "I got to meet you. That wouldn't have happened if you were an ordinary human."

Zeref blinked slowly. He... hadn't thought of it that way either, but yes, he supposed that was true. The two of them had been born generations apart after all. Only magic would have allowed their encounter.

"Natsu?"

Zeref recognized the girl who approached them as one of Natsu's teammates. He'd seen the blue-haired wizard briefly on a number of occasions but never spoken to her.

"Hey, Wendy, what's up?"

"Um, well..." The girl glanced from her field team captain to Zeref then hurriedly back again.

The Black Wizard noted her wariness, and that in turn made him uncomfortable. He excused himself and went to survey the view from the large, office windows. The buildings lining the street and the cars racing by below on the sun-baked pavement all looked... pretty much the same as any other buildings or cars he'd seen in his very, very long journey. They failed to inspire much interest in him and he started to turn away only for his attention to be snared by a sudden and brightly colored commotion down below.

"Natsu," he said once the Dragon Slayer had finished speaking with his teammate, "there seems to be a lot of angry women outside the front door."

"Ugh, they're probably here to see Loke."

"Why?"

"You can think of them as his jilted lovers."

"...All of them?"

"He got around a lot before he and Lucy got together."

Zeref looked back down at the street. There had to be almost two dozen women out there. Half of them looked on the verge of tears while the other half looked like they wanted to kill something. Preferably the lion spirit or his new girlfriend.

"Do we... need to do anything about them?"

"I wouldn't recommend trying unless you want to get trampled. They're Loke's problem. Let him deal with it."

Zeref wondered where the orange-haired man was.

Apparently, he wasn't the only one.

"Have any of you people seen Loke?"

The woman in the doorway was tall and slim, all sharp edges with narrow spectacles and a twist to her lips like she'd swallowed something sour.

"Sorry, can't say we have," Natsu said for all of them.

The woman adjusted her spectacles with two long fingers and scowled. "That's just like him to go running off when he's needed. I don't see what Lucy sees in him. Men like him are so unreliable."

"Is she one of his former lovers also?"

Natsu slapped a hand over his mouth and hissed, "Don't let her hear you say that. She turns people to stone when she's in a bad mood and then we've got to listen to them complain."

When the Slayer removed his hand, Zeref asked, "The people who were turned to stone?"

"Yeah. That's a whole day of work down the drain right there."

That hardly seemed like the main issue.

It took awhile, but eventually, the office seemed to settle down. Desks emptied as people departed on patrols or specific field assignments. While Natsu went to pick up some reference books from the archives, Zeref busied himself looking over his partner's old case files. He'd really prefer to keep on assisting him if he could. It unnerved him to think that he might be assigned to a different team.

He'd gone through about half a dozen when a shadow fell over the page.

"So you're the one," the newcomer said, inspecting Zeref from head to toe. "You certainly don't look like a powerful, ex-dark wizard sought after by half the globe. Still, if Erza let you in here, you've got to be good."

That was the only warning Zeref got before an icy lion leapt for him—and evaporated in a blast of fire that narrowly missed incinerating a desk and granted a set of metal filing cabinets a distinctly melted look.

"The hell do you think you're doing?" Natsu snarled. He shoved Zeref behind him and followed his first spell with a second.

The pale-haired Ice Wizard leapt back, dodging the flames and summoning a flock of frozen eagles.

"I should be asking you that, Salamander. I thought that was how everyone in this department said hello."

"Yeah, well, Z's a special case, and you're not even in this department. What are you doing in Magnolia anyway?"

"Visiting Gray, obviously. And checking out the mysterious new addition to your ranks, of course. This is completely against standard protocol. "

"Like you've got room to talk. Your division's hardly the model of standard protocol."

"Now I'm even more curious. You're being awfully protective."

A shower of sword blades interrupted the fight before it could escalate any further.

"Stop it, both of you," Erza's voice cut through the sudden lull. "Natsu, I've told you time and time again, no fighting in the office. The damages are coming out of your paycheck. Lyon, this is no way to behave for a visiting MCI division representative."

Zeref peered around from behind Natsu's desk where he had taken shelter. It seemed that the Dragon Slayer's desk was quickly becoming his safe haven in this crazy place. If Natsu was at it, this was a bonus.

The scarlet-haired woman glared sternly at the two wizards.

"Now, I've got a meeting to get started. If you're here to see Gray, he's down in the practice arena right now. I'll send someone to fetch you when I'm done here so we can talk about what's been happening at your division."

Dismissing the Ice Wizard with this, Erza turned to Zeref. Her bearing was as intimidating as ever, especially with the armor she never seemed to be without, but this time at least, she offered him an amused smile.

"I'm sorry for keeping you waiting. If you would please follow me to my office, we can get started."

The Black Wizard nodded and stood, feeling rather strange. Compared to most of these people, he felt practically normal.


	2. Missing Persons

Erza's office was quiet, for which Zeref was grateful. He was alone in it with her, for which he was not.

"My apologies," the woman said, reading his unease in his posture. "I don't want Natsu's input just yet, and if I let him in, he's going to give his input whether I want it or not."

This earned her a very small smile. He knew what she meant. Natsu tended to have strong opinions, and he generally didn't bother to keep them to himself. It was something Zeref appreciated about him.

Erza leaned back in her chair, the fingers of one hand tapping the top of her desk as she regarded him. She'd been the head of Magnolia's Magical Crimes Investigations division for a few years now, and she had been with the division for far longer. Despite all that experience, this was the first time she had heard of any situation quite like this one.

"I know that you'd probably prefer to stay with Natsu," she said finally, "and I'm mostly of a mind to let you do so. However, I feel that you should take some time to really think it over before you decide. Natsu's is a combat team, and with your... unique circumstances, I'm not sure that would be the best work for you. The combat teams capture criminals, but it's not their job or ours to execute them. I could place you with one of the research teams instead—if that turns out to be the safer course of action for everyone."

Zeref did not reply right away, although his immediate reaction to the request was dismay. She was right and this decision was not one that should be made hastily. Like all the other decisions he'd had to make in his life, he had to weigh every option for the one that would cause the least damage. What he personally preferred had to take second place, because when he made mistakes, other people didn't get second chances.

"I will give it some thought."

"Good. For now, stick with Natsu, and we'll talk again in, say, a week?"

Mutely, Zeref nodded.

.

Natsu wasn't pleased to hear the news, but it was a mark of how much he had learned of what it meant to live in a city that he held back any fiery outbursts or arguments. There were some things you could risk when living more or less alone in the wilderness that you couldn't afford to risk surrounded by millions of other people. Besides, it wasn't like any choices had been made yet.

Once Erza's office door had closed behind them, Zeref turned to him with a questioning look in his eyes.

"You know it's still going to be our decision in the end...?"

"I know." Natsu sighed. "Don't fret about it. I'm not going to lie and say I wouldn't be unhappy if you got assigned to a different team, but I know that what I want and what's right aren't always the same thing. I'm not selfish enough to put people's lives at risk just because I'd rather have you with me, so just—make the decision you think is best, okay?"

Zeref nodded.

"Right then." Natsu placed a hand in the small of his back and pushed him gently towards the door. "Wendy's waiting for us in one of the interrogation rooms downstairs. I think it's something about a missing person's case. As a heads up, my team gets a lot of those because we specialize in tracking. We also tend to get a lot of criminal capture assignments for the same reason, especially when we already know who we're apprehending."

The Black Wizard filed this information away along with all the other bits and pieces of information he'd been collecting on this place. The sooner he knew how everything worked around here, the sooner he could actually find a place in it. Whatever happened, he didn't want these people to regret giving him this chance.

The woman waiting for them with the rest of Natsu's team looked like she hadn't slept in days. Her gray-streaked brown hair was drawn back in a sloppy braid with numerous strands escaping here and there, and the dark circles under her eyes stood out starkly against her pallid skin. She sat stiffly in one of the room's two chairs, twisting her hands in her lap and fiddling with a large, old-fashioned, topaz ring.

"This is Aileen Reese," Wendy introduced her once Natsu had shut the door. "It's her son. No one seems to have seen or heard from him since last Thursday."

Four days ago then.

"Could you describe to us what was happening up until he disappeared?" Natsu asked, turning to the woman. "I'm sorry if you've already told Wendy here, but I'd like to hear the details from you."

Aileen nodded, a quick little jerk of her head.

"I don't know what got into him. My son Davy, he's always been such a nice boy. He started college last year, you know—back in August. Lagano University." She paused and took a deep, steadying breath. "About a month into his second semester, his roommate—Reo, they've been friends for ages—he told me that Davy had been skipping classes and returning to the dorm at odd hours. He stopped talking to his friends, or at least the friends Reo and he had in common, and whenever I called him, his mind always seemed to be somewhere else. I thought... I thought maybe he just wanted some space to himself, growing up and being a college student and everything. But then last Thursday, he left in the morning but never got to class, and no one has seen him since—or no one that I've been able to speak to. He hasn't called me, and he left his cell phone on his dorm room desk."

"Could you give us a list of who you've talked to?" Natsu asked.

Aileen nodded and Wendy hurried to get her a pad of paper and a pen. While the woman wrote, the Sky Dragon Slayer turned to her team leader.

"There's something else," she said quietly. "I did some research on Lagano University, and it seems that Davy Reese isn't the only student who's gone missing in the last few months. A girl by the name of Gina was reported missing three weeks ago, and then a week before that, it was a boy called Eldin. The only thing they all have in common is that they've all taken a rudimentary magic class. That's why Ms. Reese's case got sent to us."

"With the same teacher?"

"Actually, no. Davy and Gina were in the same class, but the other missing student took the class with a different professor the semester before. So all we can really say is that all three of them had some interest in magic."

Aileen had been listening and said, "I'll mark the professor my son took that class with. And please, please let me know if there's anything else I should do."

"You've done a lot already," Natsu assured her. "Leave the rest to us. You'll be the first to know when we find something."

.

After Aileen's departure, the two winged cats Happy and Carla were dispatched to survey and explore the university campus in question. Wendy and Natsu divided up the list Aileen had provided, and after she cast an anti-motion sickness spell for him, Natsu and Zeref set off for the campus as well in search of the two professors that had taught the rudimentary magic class.

It was just Zeref's bad luck that a speech and debate club from a local high school was traveling on the same bus, headed for some kind of event on the Lagano University campus. Their voices filled the bus from front to back, made even louder and more raucous by the metallic confines of the vehicle. All the seats were occupied so the two wizards had to stand along with all the other people who hadn't been fast enough or fortunate enough to grab a chair. The Black Wizard wondered if this was what it felt like to be a sardine, except sardines probably had it all better worked out. He would have gotten a book out to read, but there was just no room with the press of bodies all around them.

He edged away from a pair of bickering students wearing the same bright yellow, club T-shirt and closer to Natsu, murmuring to the Slayer under his breath, "Distract me. Please."

"Well," Natsu said, thinking quickly. "Lagano and Magnolia Universities are the two main campuses in this city that offer degrees in magic. They've got a large proportion of wizards on their staff, and once a year, the two schools compete against one another in a tournament of sorts—you know, like wizard duels, games where players have to use their magic, and that sort of thing."

"Can outsiders participate?"

"Nah, but the public is free to attend and watch. It's a pretty popular event actually. If I remember correctly, Magnolia University's won the competition three years in a row."

"Have you ever gone to watch?"

"Thought about it, but last time it came around, some urgent business came up at work. The two of us could go watch this year if you're interested. I heard that they sell some great snacks in the stands."

"Speaking of snacks," Zeref said. "Have you ever been to Iris?"

"I don't think so."

"I think you'd like the marketplace there. I stayed there for a few months some years ago because Iris also has a large population of wizards. Their marketplace sells a number of wizard-made trinkets and snacks. I remember it because one stand was giving out samples of a drink that changed flavors with the temperature."

"Was it good?"

"I... don't really know. I tried it, but I was mostly interested in how it was made. I didn't really pay attention to how it actually tasted."

"We're definitely going sometime," Natsu said firmly. "I'm due for a vacation soon, and Erza can hardly expect me to leave you here while I go off. Or maybe we can join one of the department exchange programs and get assigned there for a few months."

"Does that happen often? Agents from one branch temporarily going to work for another?"

The Dragon Slayer shrugged.

"Often enough. The people in charge of MCI think it's important for departments in different cities to still be familiar with one another. It makes it easier to work as a team when we have to, and I guess familiarity is supposed to help decrease the possibility of within-division conflicts. I haven't worked here long enough to know if it works or not."

"I can see the logic in it," Zeref said. "People often dislike what they do not understand."

"I guess so." Natsu made a face. "Unfortunately, I've also heard that our department has a reputation for causing trouble, so we're not always that welcome."

"Ah."

From what he had learned so far, Zeref could see the reason in that too.

"On the other hand," Natsu said, "sometimes, agents with unique skills or magical abilities will get lent to other departments when a case or situation comes up that requires their particular expertise."

That brought up something else that Zeref had been worrying about.

"Natsu, I'm... not sure what I can do that will be of much use."

"You were plenty of help when we were just discussing my cases over dinner," Natsu pointed out. "I'm sure we'll be able to figure out what kind of work in the department you're most suited for. No one expects you to know right away. We've got time."

When the dark-haired wizard's expression didn't clear, Natsu changed tactics.

"Why don't I tell you about some of the things that people in the department have done? Maybe it'll give you some ideas."

Zeref nodded, and so they spent the rest of the trip discussing the specialties of different teams and individuals. It wasn't until the bus doors clacked open and the crowd began to disembark that they realized they had reached their destination.

.

The Lagano University campus consisted of a collection of nearly identical, rectangular buildings. One of the two professors they had come to see was just finishing up his lecture, and they waited just outside the classroom door while students streamed out into the hallway. Zeref hadn't set foot in a school for more than a century, but it seemed that school classrooms and lecture halls hadn't changed all that much over time. There was new technology, of course, with screens and computers and the like, but those were really only minor details.

The professor in question looked as though he had recently lost a lot of weight. His slate gray suit hung loosely off his bony frame, and his mind seemed to be elsewhere as he packed up his laptop and assorted lecture notes. He didn't even notice them until Natsu cleared his throat impatiently.

"If you have a minute, we've got a couple questions."

Washed out, blue eyes turned to look at them, flicking towards the winged tattoo on Natsu's shoulder before settling on their faces.

"Has something happened?"

"Yeah, you could say that. Some students have gone missing from this campus, and the only thing they've all got in common is that they've all taken the introductory magic course here."

The man stopped packing, frowning slightly. "Are you telling me that they were students in my class?"

"Two of them were," the Dragon Slayer said. "Davy Reese and Gina Milane. We were wondering if you might remember what they were like in class."

"Davy Reese and Gina Milane?" the man repeated, forehead wrinkled. "I think I remember them, yes. Very interested. Came to see me in my office once or twice."

"About what?"

"Oh, this and that about magic and what it takes to become a successful wizard. You always get at least one student with questions about that, ones who don't know any wizards personally and don't have other people to ask."

"Were they any good at it?"

"Magic, you mean? Well... it's hard to say for sure if they had any potential, although they didn't show any particular aptitude for it that I recall."

Zeref listened to the conversation quietly, just absorbing the information while he examined the details of the classroom. Rather than a traditional lecture hall, the chairs in this one had been arranged into groups around large work tables. Each cluster stood near the classroom walls, leaving an open space in the middle. He assumed that was for actually practicing spells. Not a very practical arrangement in regards to safety though. If a student threw a spell and missed, he or she was likely to hit the student on the opposite side of the room—or the professor. Perhaps the magic they taught here wasn't that volatile?

He wondered how much the content of these classes had changed since the last time he had been in one.

"Well, I guess that's it for now," Natsu was saying. "Let us know if you think of anything that might help."

"I have a question," Zeref spoke up, surprising both men. "Just out of curiosity, what area of magic do you specialize in?"

"Me?" The professor laughed, a strangely hearty sound in conjunction with his worn out appearance. "Nothing special. Mostly magical theory. That's why I often get tasked with teaching the introductory classes."

Once they were out of earshot, Natsu turned to him and asked, "Do you think the guy's involved?"

His companion glanced back over his shoulder where the man in question was hurrying towards the other end of the corridor. "It is possible, is it not? Assuming the disappearances have anything to do with magic, and assuming he told the truth about those students having very few wizardly connections."

"Hmm, that's true. We should be able to find out more about what that professor studies exactly. After we talk to the second one."

The second professor turned out to be a woman, and she was just leaving her office when they found her. She was... very orange. Her clothes were orange, her large purse was orange, and even the stone beads of her necklace were orange.

She was even less helpful than her colleague.

"I really haven't got time to talk right now," she said briskly, locking her office door without looking at them. "I've got two teams that I'm supposed to be coaching. If you come by tomorrow morning, I should have an hour or so then."

Natsu didn't argue.

"Fine then. We'll be back tomorrow. But just one quick question before you go. Have you worked with Professor Inami much?"

At this, she finally glanced their way, startled.

"What? Oh no, we hardly even talk. He's only been on the faculty for two years."

Natsu shrugged. "My mistake. I thought you might work together since you both teach the intro magic class."

When she was gone, Natsu folded his arms across his chest and frowned.

"Why do you think she lied about that?"

"She was lying?"

"Well, I don't know about the "work together" part, but they definitely know each other. In fact, they're probably going out."

"What makes you say that?" Zeref asked, baffled.

"They've both got traces of the other's scent on them. That doesn't happen unless two people get really, really close."

"...It's a little frightening how much a person's scent can tell you. I am glad that I never had any Dragon Slayers trying to hunt me down. Hiding would have been much harder." Zeref paused then asked, "Why do you think she lied?"

"I don't know. Would you deny it if someone asked you if you knew me?"

The Black Wizard considered. "Yes, actually, I suppose I probably would deny it. Too many people are after me. I would be suspicious as to why they wanted to know who I knew."

It was Natsu's turn to ponder this. "Right then. Maybe she thinks that if we knew they were close, something bad would happen."

Both of them chewed on this possibility while they went in search of the university library and a library computer.

.

"Are you Reo?"

The boy who had opened the dormitory room door looked down at the young woman standing in the hallway.

"Yeah, that's me. Do I know you?"

Wendy smiled up at him and showed him her badge.

"Davy's mother came to us for help. My team's investigating his disappearance, and I'd like to look around your room and ask you a few questions—if this is a good time."

"Um, sure, I guess so."

The boy stood aside and Wendy stepped past him. The dorm room looked much as she would have expected a dorm room to look with two identical sets of furniture that included a bed, a small bookshelf, a dresser, a desk, and a chair arranged on opposite sides of the room. A few sports posters covered the walls, and the laptop on one of the tables was on.

"Nothing's been moved on his side," Reo said, gesturing at the half of the room that included a haphazard pile of wizard magazines. "His mom came by, but she didn't touch anything—just in case."

"Can you tell me about the days leading up to his disappearance? I mean, did he do or say anything unusual? Act differently maybe?"

Reo took a moment to think about this.

"Aside from staying out late and skipping class, I suppose the strangest thing was how tired he seemed. Well, I say tired, but it kind of seesawed. Sometimes he'd be real tired, but other times, it was like he had too much energy. It was starting to drive me a bit crazy. Sometimes, he'd be up typing his homework at three in the morning, and other times, he'd sleep like a rock through his alarm so that I'd have to get up to turn it off."

"He was interested in magic?"

"Very much, but he only started classes in it recently. He knows all the latest news on famous wizards and magical innovations, and he follows a bunch of teams in wizard sports."

"I see. What about you?"

"Me?" Reo snorted. "Nah, magic's not really my thing. I mean, it's cool and all, but I think what people can do with technology is much cooler."

He flushed suddenly, remembering who he was talking to.

"No offense, of course," he added hastily. "Wizards are great and they do a lot of good for society and everything."

"I'm not offended," Wendy assured him, somewhat amused. "I think it's a good thing that people have different interests. I love magic, but things like computers and cell phones are really useful too."

She paused, a strange scent catching her attention. Frowning, she walked over to Davy's cluttered desk and picked up the thermos on the corner. She unscrewed the lid and cautiously sniffed its contents.

"This coffee has something else in it, but I can't tell what it is."

"It's coffee?" Reo asked, startled. "I thought he hated coffee. He always said it was too bitter."

Well, that settled it then. This was probably important. She'd have to get a sample to the labs.

.

Late afternoon found Natsu and Zeref eating an early dinner at the Tenrou Coffee Shop after a long day gathering information on the university campus. Although it hadn't been an especially eventful day—talking to people and scouring the school's print and online records were relatively uneventful compared to fighting dark wizards—Zeref felt rather worn out. Then again, he'd been chased by and fought against dark wizards most of his life. All these other things were new. New, not because he had never done any of it before, but because he had never before been truly invested in the outcomes.

The waiter moved from a nearby table to theirs and cleared his throat.

"Your usual?" he asked Zeref. When the dark-haired wizard nodded, he turned to address Natsu. "What about you?"

"The same," Natsu said, inclining his head in his companion's direction. "Plus a house salad and whatever you guys have for dessert today."

The waiter nodded and made a few notes on his notepad. "Coffee?"

"Yeah, for both of us."

Zeref glanced around the shop, noting the handful of familiar faces. There were quite a few unfamiliar ones too with Tenrou being such a popular coffee shop. It wasn't just because it served excellent food at even more excellent prices, although that was certainly a major attraction. There was just something warm about the atmosphere that made customers feel at home. Maybe it was the easy closeness of the staff that they did their best to share with everyone, or maybe it was the decor with the round lanterns that hung from the tree branches that spread across the ceiling, shedding a warm, golden light over everything. Zeref couldn't quite put his finger on it, but it was the place he and Natsu had first met, which gave it a certain kind of significance in his mind. It was only a place, but it was a place that held good memories for him, and heaven knew there weren't many of those places in his life.

"So?"

Zeref returned his attention to Natsu and found the Dragon Slayer watching him intently.

The Black Wizard took a moment to choose the right words for what he was thinking, then said, "It has been some time since I last tried to interact this much with others. It will take some getting used to."

He had spent so long focusing on being ignored or forgotten that it felt strange now to actually try and make himself a place here. One where he could remain for a long time yet to come, where people would actually know to look for him.

"That's understandable," Natsu said. "So what did you do before you came here, anyway? You told me that you never stayed long in one place, but you had to have done more than just hang about coffee shops and read, right?"

"I occasionally picked up work when I needed to, but it hardly seems worth recounting."

"It couldn't all have been that boring."

"Boring?" Zeref repeated as though the word was foreign to him. "Frankly, it never occurred to me to consider if any of it was boring or not."

It was amazing how much life one could live through without actually living. Zeref had paid just enough attention to everything to stay inconspicuous, and that was all.

"Hey, if you end up totally hating working at the division, you will let me know, right?"

"But it's why I'm currently allowed to stay here without the Council coming after me, is it not?"

Natsu glared at him over his coffee. "That doesn't mean there wouldn't be anything we could do about it, and it definitely doesn't mean I wouldn't still want to know. I want you to be happy here."

Zeref didn't respond right away. Whenever Natsu said such things, it brought up emotions in him that seemed strangely like an uneasy mixture of confusion and embarrassment. At least he thought it seemed like embarrassment; he hadn't felt embarrassed about anything in centuries so it was difficult to be sure. There was a part of him that still couldn't quite believe that someone actually cared about how he felt or what he thought, let alone if he was happy. Sometimes, he wasn't even sure he knew what happiness was supposed to feel like, although he imagined that it was probably a lot like how he felt when he was around Natsu.

"I think I will be fine here," he said finally. "But if I do end up disliking it, I will let you know."

And somehow, it was only right then speaking the words aloud to the one person in the world whose opinion he cared about these days that he realized they were true. Despite all of his doubts and worries, he really did feel as though he would be all right. The realization made him feel suddenly lighter. It probably wouldn't last, but while it did, he would try to enjoy it.

The Dragon Slayer scrutinized him for a moment longer as though assessing his sincerity then nodded, satisfied with what he found.

"Good. I'm holding you to that promise."


End file.
